Chapter 32: Survival of the Fittest

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A big hug and chocolates go out to VIVAvivacious for her help with this chapter.

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The bright light that filtered into the room shone beyond even the protection of her closed eyelids.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, her eyelids flickering as she attempted to blink away the burning sensation and the tears that were pooling in her eyes as they attempted to adjust with the light. Moaning softly, she tried to roll her body in the opposite direction of the light so she could attempt to open her eyes to something less harsh. Her side hurt, and she bit her lip to keep from making any noise. Slowly, and very carefully, she peeped one eye open and let it adjust to the dimmer light before opening the other.

She blinked both eyes a few more times to clear them of excess moisture so she could see where she was.

She saw a white wall with a generic landscape painting hanging up on it and a door down the far end, and then she shifted focus to another white wall, this time with a painting of a haggle of old witches at a tea party. She rolled onto her back again, breathing in sharply as her side ached once more. The next thing she saw was a window with horizontal blinds, the sun shining through blindingly before her eyes settled on the dark-haired man in the chair beside the bed.

His hair was long...past his shoulders...and it looked a little scraggly. The white shirt that lay beneath the open waistcoat was creased and untucked from the black trousers he sported. Hermione wondered for a moment how long she had been there, for his hair was a good inch longer than it had been, and his face was gaunt and paler than she remembered. She opened her mouth to speak and found that her voice was raspy and very faint. She was not about to let that stop her as she reached an arm in his direction.

'Severus,' she croaked.

His eyes slowly flickered open, and she watched as he shook off his tiredness before looking in her direction. His eyes widened on seeing her awake, and she smiled at him faintly. His fingers wrapped around hers immediately, and he stood from the chair and moved to sit on the bed beside her, gently easing her onto her back before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

'Hermione,' he choked out, his voice rough with emotion. 'I was worried you would never come back to me.'

Hermione reached up to cup his cheek just as a single tear escaped him and slid down his face. She caught it with her thumb and brushed it away. Her own eyes filled with tears then, and she allowed them to escape freely. It had been such a long time since she had last allowed herself to cry, or so it seemed.

'I could never leave you without saying goodbye at the very least,' she said through her tears, delighting in the small smile he flashed her at her joke.

When she had calmed down some, he summoned a damp washcloth to them and gently passed it over her face, soothing her swollen eyelids. She brought his hand that she was still holding to her lips and pressed a grateful kiss to his knuckles.

'How long have I been here?' she asked, her voice struggling to become accustomed to speech once more.

'Six excruciatingly long weeks,' he replied hoarsely.

Hermione closed her eyes then. He had most likely been by her bedside for the majority of each day, judging by his own appearance. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and opened her eyes to gaze at him again despite a sudden weariness that weighed down on her once more. She had survived. He had survived. The two of them could live together again like they had before, and she could do all the things with her life that she had put on hold. She knew she wouldn't be running any marathons, but the fact that she was alive was as wonderful as it was surprising.

'I'm so tired, Severus,' she told him before yawning. 'And thirsty, too.'

'Go back to sleep for a while,' he murmured softly, gently stroking her hair with his free hand. 'I will let the Healers know you have awoken, and we'll see if you can have something to drink later.'

She barely registered the rest of what he had said after telling her to sleep, as the moment she closed her eyes, she felt herself drifting into a black oblivion.

She awoke later, feeling disoriented before finally remembering she was in St. Mungo's. She immediately moved to roll herself over to see Snape when she saw that it was not him but Luna and Draco who were occupying the two chairs beside her bed. She smiled when she saw that they were reading the paper together, heads bent together and both too focussed to notice that she had moved.

'You two look happy,' she croaked.

Draco's head snapped up in surprise, and the wide smile he flashed her when he realised that she was awake made her grin in return. 'You look like you had a good sleep,' he told her teasingly.

'Would anyone like to tell me why my side is throbbing like mad?' she asked.

'Voldemort's final blow,' Luna answered, her voice taking on a slightly misty quality. 'He threw an unknown hex at you just before the killing curses that were cast struck him. It felt like it was going in slow motion around everyone, but we were frozen to the spot.'

'You were in the office?' Hermione asked, stunned. She had not seen Luna.

'I ran into the room just in time to see the green flashes of light,' she replied, reaching a hand out to grasp one of Hermione's. 'When you fell, everyone started shouting, and Severus caught you, and the two of us Apparated you right here before I returned to collect Draco.'

'Where is Severus?' she whispered, trying to push herself up into a sitting position against her pillows with little success.

'We sent him home to shower and have some rest,' Draco answered, standing and gently easing Hermione up so Luna could arrange her pillows, before helping her to sit with her back against them.

'He would've hated that,' she murmured with a slight chuckle.

'He was making himself ill,' Draco said as he returned to his seat. 'I managed to convince him by telling him that if he didn't take care of himself better, you wouldn't have any reason to come back to a dead man.'

Hermione nodded in understanding. Her lover was a stubborn man, but she knew he loved her beyond a shadow of a doubt. Draco's threat might have been in jest, but Snape was the type of man who took everything seriously. She looked down at her arms and saw that she was thinner than she recalled. Her entire being was smaller than she recalled.

'How healed is the wound in my side?' she asked suddenly.

'It took Severus and the Healers a while to discover that the dark hex was feeding off the magical attention it was receiving when we were attempting to heal it,' Draco explained. 'They starved it, and the curse "died." For the first little while, you were healing naturally, and it is only in the last two weeks that they have been introducing a few magical elements into your healing. It'll be another few weeks, now that you are awake, before they will release you.'

'And apart from the two of you and Severus, has anyone else been by to visit?' she asked softly, unsure if she even wanted to know.

'Arthur, Charlie, Bill and the twins came by a few times, and Severus let them have some time with you,' Luna answered. 'Professor McGonagall also paid a visit once. Harry and Ginny came once, but Severus had them turned away, and they didn't return.'

Hermione felt a pang of anger and sadness course through her. Harry. He was an unfortunate casualty of the war...at least as far as she was concerned. If he was as concerned for her as he had always claimed to be, he would not have allowed being turned away once stop him from visiting. She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears but blinked them back. It was not worth shedding tears over, especially as she was already dehydrated.

'I'm still thirsty,' she murmured, touching a hand to her throat.

'The Healer said she could have some lukewarm water,' a voice answered from the doorway.

Hermione's eyes flitted over to the doorway, and she smiled upon seeing Snape standing there dressed in fresh clothing, his arms folded across his chest. He walked the rest of the way into the room, closing the door behind him before immediately going to the dresser and pouring a glass of water from the jug provided. He cast a mild warming charm over the liquid before striding across the room and sitting beside Hermione.

'You hands are still weak,' he murmured. 'I hope you won't mind if I assist you in drinking this.'

She shook her head no, and with Snape guiding the glass to her mouth, she managed to take a few small sips before accidentally drinking too much at once, causing her to splutter and cough it up. Efficient as ever, he summoned a dry towel and gently dabbed away the water that was spilled before wordlessly continuing to help her sip at the water until the majority was gone.

'Thank you,' she whispered.

He nodded simply in response. 'I think tomorrow you might even be allowed to have some broth, if you become hungry.'

Silence settled over the room for a moment before Draco and Luna stood from their seats and declared that they would be leaving for the night.

'We'll see you tomorrow afternoon, Hermione,' Luna said, leaning down to kiss her cheek and embrace her for a moment.

Once the door closed with a soft click behind the couple, Snape sent the two spare chairs back into the corner with a wave of his hand. Hermione smiled when she felt the bed beneath her increase in width so he could sit beside her comfortably. She was certain it was against hospital policy to transfigure the patients' furniture but was equally certain that no one would question Snape about it. Despite his attitude towards her, Draco, and now Luna, he was still an intimidating man.

A little while later, when Hermione felt herself beginning to drift off once more, she felt Snape press a kiss to her forehead before he mumbled, 'I missed you' into her hair.

'I love you,' she whispered softly as her eyes began to drift shut.

'When you are allowed to leave, will you come to live with me again?' he asked.

Hermione felt her heart swell with love. Eyes still closed, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek right beside his mouth. 'Where will we live?' she replied.

Hermione felt his mouth curve into a smile as her lips remained pressed to his skin. He turned to press his mouth to hers for a moment before pulling back to answer. 'We could live in the cottage, if you like,' he said quietly. 'Or we could leave here and live in another country entirely. Anywhere you want to go, name it.'

'I'd like to live somewhere else for a little while,' she replied with a grin. 'It's going to be a media circus here when the press find out that I am awake, I suppose.'

'It has yet to be leaked, which means I have successfully managed to intimidate all of the St. Mungo's staff into keeping their mouths closed for the time being,' he said, and she laughed softly in response. 'I have no doubts that you will be hounded as soon as it becomes common knowledge.'

'The sooner I get well, the better then,' she said, feeling the darkness encroaching on her consciousness once more. She was so very tired again.

'Yes, love,' Snape said as he shifted her pillows and lay her back down.

As Hermione fell asleep again, the only things she was aware of were Snape's long fingers as he stroked her hair gently and the combined sounds of their breathing.

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A/N – We are almost done now!